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Reyes advancing through ranks in rehab

Reyes advancing through ranks in rehab

4/12/13: Jose Reyes appears to injure his ankle on an attempted stolen base at second in the top of the sixth inning against the Royals

By Gregor Chisholm
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MLB.com |

TORONTO -- Jose Reyes appeared in his final rehab game for Class A Dunedin on Wednesday afternoon and will now advance to Triple-A Buffalo.

Reyes played seven innings and went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run. The shortstop finished a three-game stint in Class A with five hits in 13 at-bats (.385) while scoring three runs and stealing a base.

The 30-year-old will enjoy an off-day on Thursday before joining the Bisons on Friday. He's expected to play at least three games for them as he continues to build endurance and work on his timing at the plate.

"He'll play in Buffalo on Friday night and through the weekend," manager John Gibbons said. "We'll see where he's at into the weekend."

Gibbons remained non-committal when asked about a timeline for Reyes' return. The club originally said Reyes could require two weeks of rehab games before coming back, but it's still possible he could rejoin the Blue Jays on Monday in Tampa Bay for the start of a three-game series.

The Dominican native has been out since suffering a severely sprained ankle on April 12 in Kansas City. He'll assume his regular spot at the top of the lineup once healthy, as Melky Cabrera is expected to slide down to the No. 5 spot in the order.

Reyes hit .395 with three extra-base hits in 10 games before his injury. He was slated to be out until the All-Star break, but he had his ankle heal faster than expected and will be back before the end of June barring any setbacks.